January 27, 2010 (Montreal, QC) – Spidertech presented by Planet Energy (STPE) held its 2010 launch in Montreal at the Saputo soccer stadium today, to be followed by a similar event on Thursday in Toronto. Among those taking turns at the podium were Steve Bauer (team co-owner), Saputo spokesperson Claude Pinard, Montreal and Quebec City ProTour race organizer Serge Arsenault, and sports commentator Louis Bertrand.

Most of the team was presented in their new kits (Stephane Cossette and Flavio De Luna were absent). Bauer then showed videos of seven-time TdF winner, Lance Armstrong – and of legendary Tour de France sports commentator Phil Liggett – both wishing the team well in 2010. Armstrong, who made reference to his “good friend Steve [Bauer]”, added that he looked forward to racing against STPE at the Tour of California.

Bauer proudly announced that all of his sponsors had doubled their contribution in 2010 over 2009. This was in part because of a tremendous season last year, with a stage win at the Tour of Missouri. He also made reference to how the sport is cleaner than ever and that “cyclists can’t get away with doping anymore.”

Arsenault mentioned that five-time TdF winner Eddy Merckx will be in Quebec for the ProTour races in September. He thanked Bauer for his long involvement in the sport and also thanked Saputo for its contributions to the sport of cycling. Speaking about the question on everybody’s mind, Arsenault stated that, “My biggest hope is that Steve [Bauer’s team] will be there [at the ProTour races] on September 10 and 12. I don’t know how we are going to get there, but we will find a solution.”

Rider Comments
We caught up with many of the Spidertech p/b Planet Energy (STPE) riders at the team launch in Montreal. Here is some of what they had to say:

Charly Vives I’m looking forward to 2010. I hope that our team does well at the Tour of California and that we get into the ProTour races in Quebec. I am also looking forward to racing in the Dominican Republic and various track events.

Simon Lambert-Lemay It feels great to be here. I’m just back from training in North Carolina (not with the team). This year I’m just hoping to have good health and develop myself as a rider.

Andrew Randell The team is looking good. We have good potential in the young guys. I hope that our team gets invited to the Tour of California; Steve has been working hard on that. It would be great if somebody on our team wins at the nationals.

Ryan Roth I’ve been on the team for three years now and it just keeps getting stronger. June will be an important month for STPE between the Tour de Beauce, Philadelphia, and the national championships. I would like to win at nationals where I’ve already finished in the top ten.

Guillaume Boivin Last year was pretty big; we just need to keep the vibe.

Keven Lacombe Our team is twice as good as last year. Yes, it’s true that I share an apartment with Martin Gilbert, but our schedules are such that we barely see each other except when we’re training together. When I’m not riding, I am busy with my studies in accounting at the University of Montreal.

Lucas Euser (pronounced like “you, sir”) This is my first time in Montreal; I just flew in from California last night. I only joined the team this month but it’s kind of funny how everything fell into place. After my accident last year, my chiropractor recommended that I use Spidertech kinesiology tape. It’s really good stuff. Then Steve contacted me about joining his team and even sent me a package of Spidertech tape.

I live in California’s Napa Valley and the team will have a training camp in California from where some of us will ride at Redlands, while others go to Uruguay. Then there’s the Tour of California (ToC). I used to ride with Garmin p/b Chipotle, but that fell apart after my accident. I am a climber and a stage racer. It’s my intention to ride in European races in 2011.

If STPE does not get a team invite to the ProTour races in Montreal and Quebec City, most team riders could probably race as part of the Canadian national team. But neither myself as an American nor Mexican Flavio De Luna could ride as part of the Canadian team.

Spidertech p/b Planet Energy

– Mark Batty
– Eric Boily
– Martin Gilbert
– Keven Lacombe
– Bruno Langlois
– François Parisien
– Andrew Randell
– Ryan Roth
– Charly Vives
– Guilluame Boivin
– Simon Lambert-Lemay
– Flavio De Luna
– David Boily
– Stephane Cossette
– Lucas Euser